Fitness: Put your feet up, embrace carbs

Jill Barker, Special to The Gazette09.22.2011

Jean-Sebastien Cronier-Larouche, 15, is congratulated by Jean-Francois Bemeur and Christiane Guyonneau after they cross the finish line during the Montreal Marathon in Montreal, Sunday September 5, 2010. They were part of a Students in the Running program who participated in the race.

Editor's note: View a map of the Sept. 25 Montreal Marathon below. Also, this story has been corrected. See below for details.

MONTREAL - Marathons deserve respect. After all, 42 kilometres isn’t a walk in the park. Experienced marathoners know what I’m talking about. They’ve done the distance and experienced the joys and disappointments that come with taking on the challenge. After all, completing a marathon isn’t just about how well you prepare your body, but also how well you deal with the day.

In fact, the only certain thing about a marathon is the distance from tape to tape. After that, you just never know what kind of challenges will present themselves. The weather, route, your diet and your body can let you down or pick you up. Which it will be is never sure until the gun goes off and you’re on your way.

That said, there are things you can control on race day like what you eat and drink, your pace and your attitude. But even the best marathoners have erred on the big day, which is why I thought it would be worthwhile to benefit from their experience about what to do, and not do, on race day.

So here is some sage advice from a selection of Montreal’s most seasoned runners with the hopes of making Sept. 25’s Montreal marathon, and any other you may tackle, just a tad easier.

Anything you can know about a course is helpful. Visit the race sight, take a look at its elevation profile, check out the weather in the area and scan the results from past races to see if it’s a fast or slow course.

Kyla Rollinson, coach Boréal Running Club

Write down a race plan: I’ve gotten into the habit of writing down a race plan a few weeks before. Nothing elaborate, just breaking the race down into four 10k blocks (the last 2k don’t need a plan …). I write down goal pace, nutrition / hydration and mental focus elements like how you will be feeling at certain points and what to focus on to keep on pace. I find it also helps in visualizing the race if you do this.

Matthew Nowakowski, ran his first marathon in Montreal in 2005 and has since added another seven, plus one ironman

A good tip for the upcoming marathons would be to make a pre-race checklist and stick it on the fridge. There are a lot of good ones on the internet www.gwu.edu/~runners/premarathonchecklist.doc.

Bill Ludlow, coach Phoenix Runners with 47 marathons under his belt

Day before: Stay off your feet and hydrate. No running, no yardwork, no four hours on your feet at the expo or the mall. Eat something with lots of carbs and easily digestible for an early dinner. It’s better to eat something boring than to be up all night. I once had penne arrabbiata at 8:30 p.m. the night before the Ottawa marathon. Not recommended.

Matthew Nowakowski

Take a three-hour nap the afternoon before the marathon.

Aldo Bellon, veteran of 41 marathons

You’re nervous because you don’t know what to expect. And when you have already run a marathon, you are nervous because you KNOW what to expect ... so RELAX!

Laura Serri, marathoner and ultra-marathoner

Trust your training and avoid negative thinking.

Trish O’Keefe, marathoner and ultra-marathoner

Find out what kind of food and drink they are handing out on the course and avoid eating or drinking anything unfamiliar. I ate a banana once and even though I had eaten bananas several times while cycling, eating one during a run had disastrous consequences. I had the worst case of diarrhea.

Kyla Rollinson

On the morning of the marathon repeat the same routine you practised during training; wake up at the same time, eat the same foods, wear the same clothes. This is not the time to try something new. And remain calm: treat the marathon as just another long run.

Dorys Langlois, running coach MAA

If you hit the wall, remember that you will get through this and that everyone is feeling the same. Try to focus on something else and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Tina Kader, a marathoner for 32 years and winner of the 2003 Montreal marathon

My tip was actually provided to me by our club vice-president, Bernard Courville. It’s kind of a joke but it contains a lot of truth in it as well. “In the first half, don’t be an idiot. In the second half, don’t be a wimp.”

Walk the water stations – running and drinking is pointless unless you are planning on winning your age group.

Denis Bernicky, veteran of four marathons and more than 50 races.

Throw up your hands in victory and smile as you are crossing the finish line because someone is taking your picture.

Denis Bernicky

Enjoy the moment and have fun. This is as important if not more important than any other tip. But if you follow these other tips you’ll have a better chance of having fun.

Dorys Langlois

Correction: Because of a reporting error, the original version of Jill Barker's fitness column misstated the number of marathons Denis Bernicky has run. He is a veteran of four, not 40. The Gazette regrets the error.

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